Two Alabama natives are on their way to becoming answers to super-fan trivia questions.

Since its July 15 debut, the Netflix TV show "Stranger Things" has become a certified phenomenon, with considerable buzz on social media and generally glowing press coverage.

A big part of the show's appeal is its decidedly '80s vibe. "Stranger Things" not only pulls from horror and Steven Spielberg sci-fi films of that era in terms of feel, the show is also set in the decade and gets all the period details correct. From the phones the characters talk on to "The Thing" and "Jaws" movie posters on their walls to the backpacks, bikes and haircuts and most definitely the synthesizer heavy score, courtesy of musicians Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein of Austin, Texas band Survive. The fact the plot centers on the Byers family, whose matriarch is '80s "it girl" Winona Ryder, adds to the magnetic nostalgia. But none of this would matter if the story and performances weren't there. And they definitely are.

Craig Johnson, who grew up in Decatur and now lives in Marietta, Ga., worked as on set dresser for all eight episodes of "Stranger Things." This means he deals with all the sets. All the furniture. The artwork on the walls. And some Christmas lights that are a key part of the plotline. "The set decorator Jess Royal she and all the set dressers come in and actually dress the set and then I come in with the shooting crew to make sure it looks right on camera and maintain continuity," Johnson, 38, says. This is the first TV show Johnson has worked on. He's mostly worked in features, like "Kill the Messenger," "Dirty Grandpa," "Taken 3" and the "Vacation" reboot. He previously worked with Royal on "Phenom," a baseball film starring Ethan Hawke and Paul Giamatti.

Decatur native Craig Johnson on the set of "Stranger Things." (Curtis Baker/Netflix)

It took about five months to film the first season of "Stranger Things." "In a movie you'll only be in a set for a few days but on this we were in the same sets for weeks at a time," Johnson says. "The Byers living is a huge set. And we were in there so much. So having to maintain that continuity over several months was a bit of a challenge but it was a lot of fun." Johnson worked 12 to 14 hour days on "Stranger Things," which was filmed in and around Atlanta.

"It's the best thing I've ever worked on," Johnson says. "The most fun thing I've ever worked on. It was also the hardest I've ever worked on but it was worth it every minute of it."

Johnson's "Stranger Things" involvement doesn't end with the sets though. A song and music video for a synth-pop song called "I'm Taking Off" that he released in 2013 under the band name Space Knife appears about midway through episode two. The video is playing on the TV set in the home of main character Jonathan Byers' estranged father. The video itself is visible just for a moment. But the song's clearly audible throughout the scene. "I've worked with Jess before," Johnson says, "and she had seen the video and I think the ('Stranger Things') art department had been looking for more stuff to be on the TVs and so she asked me if I would be willing to kind of offer my video for it and I was like, 'Of course.' And she submitted it and they agreed to use it. Which is pretty great."

This was a particular honor since Dixon and Stein's "Stranger Things" synthesizer score is such a highlight of the show. On Wednesday "Stranger Things" announced via Facebook a soundtrack release would be forthcoming. No word yet if the Space Knife song would be included.

"I think that's one of the reasons why Jess asked if I wanted to have it in there," Johnson says, "because she knew that it was the type of music that was going to be played a lot throughout the show. That very '80s inspired synth score. It's just really cool to be a part of that. The music I'm listening to when I writing is usually the scores to John Carpenter movies. That's just my favorite kind of soundtrack to movies, the '80s synth score. And so for my song to be mixed in with that is pretty awesome." Musically, Johnson also draws inspiration from synthesizer oriented musicians like Gary Numan, Kratwerk and Devo.

Space Knife is an awesome band name. But Johnson only did one gig under that appellation, at a friend's birthday party at a bar. If not for Johnson's very 21st century hipster beard and glasses, you'd think "I'm Taking Off" was recorded and filmed in 1983. In addition to the glossy synth bleeps and groove, the production and grid-covered background scream of MTV's early era.

Around the time "I'm Taking Off" was posted to YouTube a couple years back, Johnson's longtime friend Charlie DeButy, who still resides in Decatur, made Johnson a Space Knife poster. The poster also exudes a super-'80s aesthetic. There's a "Tron"-like grid, an outer space tableau that features a planet and a mysterious space traveler's silhouette. And "Space Knife" in a futuristic font.

A warehouse manager by trade, DeButy does art as a hobby and he works old-school, drawing and painting his designs instead of creating them on a computer. After spending many hours after work and on weekends making the Space Knife poster.

"I finally finished it," DeButy, now 35 says. "Then I took a picture of it with my phone and sent it to Craig and Craig was like 'Oh that's amazing' and everything. And so I went to work and cardboarded it up and FedExed it and they lost it. It was gone forever. Lost in the jungle between here and Atlanta so all we had left of it was that photo I sent him of it. Craig took that photo and he knew guys who did graphic design stuff, Photoshop work and they took that photo and made a computer mockup of it. And that became the poster."

The Space Knife poster makes an appearance in "Stranger Things" episode seven in this scene, on the window of the movie theater box office.

After "Stranger Things" wrapped, Johnson called DeButy and told him a little about the show, as much as he could. DeButy thought the show sounded cool and told his friend, "It sounds like they made a show just for us."

Johnson called another time to tell DeButy to keep his eyes peeled during episode seven of "Stranger Things." That Space Knife poster he'd created makes an appearance in the background. Like many fans, DeButy binge-watched the show, plowing through it over the course of two days. He didn't see the Space Knife poster though. He'd been looking for it on the walls of the character's homes. But the poster was actually on the window of a movie theater box office that appears in the episode.

"It's way in the background," DeButy says. "But it was neat to see it on the window." Over the years, DeButy has created a few other posters for friends' local bands and businesses. He says humbly that he's, "not a professional artist in any way shape or form. I've gotten work before and I'll take it when I get it but it's not what I do."

Johnson had brought the Space Knife poster to set decorator Royal because it was very '80s-inspired, so he thought it might work for the show as the music video had. "She let me work it into the show in the background," Johnson says, "and everybody liked it and said it was cool so I got to leave it in."

Growing up in Decatur, Johnson recalls seeing "Return of the Jedi" four or so times in the theater at a local shopping mall. Watching "Stranger Things" for the first time, this summer with his wife on the big TV in his den, was "surreal" for him. "All the influences that are in this movie are the movies that I loved as a kid growing, like 'E.T.', 'Close Encounters,' 'Poltergeist,' Johnson says. "So being in a show that embraces all of that and then to have so many also embrace it and love the show and everybody's posting about, it's a really cool feeling to be a part of it."

Noting how each episode is titled as a chapter, DeButy thinks the appeal of "Stranger Things" lies partly in its similarity to vintage Stephen King books.

"I think it appeals to the people who remember seeing 'Pet Sematary' on the shelf when it was new in a bookstore. That whole era where paperback horror was really at the forefront of culture and the internet wasn't in everybody's pocket all the time. I think people identify with that. They remember riding their bikes around everywhere (as the young characters in the show do) and being excited to get movie tickets on a Friday night. I think people like it because of that. It's total nostalgia. And a really good story. And a really good show."